Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, is a film
that mixes subconscious dreaming and conscious reality. “In Inception,
Nolan does the impossible, the unthinkable, the stupendous: He folds a mirror
version of Paris back upon itself; he stages a fight sequence in a gravity-free
hotel room; he sends a train plowing through a busy city street. Whatever you
can dream, Nolan does it in Inception. Then he nestles those little
dreams into even bigger dreams, and those bigger dreams into gargantuan dreams,
going on into infinity, cubed. He stretches the boundaries of filmmaking so
that it's, like, not even filmmaking anymore, it's just pure ‘OMG I gotta text
my BFF right now’ sensation” (Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline).The film’s main
characters are Dominick “Dom” Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Arthur (Joseph
Gordon-Levitt), Cobb’s main business partner. Cobb and Arthur train Ariadne (Ellen
Page) to design maze-like settings and travel into people’s dreams and steals
information, or in this case, places ideas. This is called “Inception”, and
according to its rules, whatever happens on the dream level above seeps through
the dream level below. As
a lot of the film was spent inside someone's dream, anything could happen and,
a lot of weird stuff did. The special effects are spectacular, creative
and extreme. The film’s extensive use of dream sequences and enhanced realities
was achieved through a combination of special effects, miniatures, and digital
work under the guidance of Paul Franklin. Franklin states that, “ some of the
more spectacular imagery of the film-the street folding over in Paris and
characters creating architecture out of thin air-are VFX shots that we created
from a combination of live action and copious amounts of digital animation”
(How 1). The film was
nominated for eight Oscars including Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best
Achievement in Visual Effects, and Best Motion Picture of the Year, and won the
Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. This gives the film
credibility to viewers and lets them know that the special effects in this film
are spectacular (ethos, logos). Special effects, according to Understanding
Movies, “can benefit from this technology” (Gianetti 33). The use of
special effects definitely enhanced the movie by engaging the viewer and giving
the audience a better understanding of the substantial obstacles the characters
encountered, without becoming the focus of the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvDba2nMv_U
There are two scenes in particular
that exhibit amazing special effects. The first is a gravity-free fight scene
that takes place inside a building, and another that takes place outside. The
indoor scene involves a floating fight within this gravity-free hotel. The
dream level above this one takes place in a van that one of the characters is
driving, and everyone else in it is asleep. The van dimension and the hotel
dimension are constantly alternating on the screen to let viewers know what is
happening and how the zero gravity occurred in the hotel (logos). The
gravity-free hotel is caused by the van spinning and then flipping over a
railing as it is getting chased and shot at by men on motorcycles. Arthur is
the only one awake on this level at the time, and is the only one who
experiences the feeling of no gravity. Arthur floats up and down the hallway as
he fends off the attackers as he is trying to figure out how to deliver a kick
to his sleeping teammates. In this scene was interesting to witness Arthur’s
agility as he carries out his complicated part of the mission. The entire scene
was extremely intense and very exciting to watch (pathos). Viewers are
completely engaged in what is happening and waiting in anticipation as to
whether he will succeed or not (pathos). If viewers enjoy watching action
sequences, then they will want to watch this one and even the next one (logos).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWRxCgcq9yQ
The second scene is referred to as
the “final kick” towards the end of the film. It is complicated, but there are
four parallel action sequences cut together in order to keep the audience
interested and on the edge of their seats (pathos). These four parallel action
sequences represent different levels, and the film continuously cuts between
them. The scene starts out with Fischer, the man whose dream they are in,
approaching his dying father, Arthur getting ready to deliver his final kick,
Eames, one of the men with Fischer, setting up his final kick, and all of this
is going on while the van is still in mid-air and slowly falling towards the
water. Then everything suddenly happens in rapid sequence as the kicks occur,
and everyone moves through the various dream levels as the cuts between them
become faster and faster. One of the most exciting kicks is a slow-motion
explosion that will make any viewer’s mouth drop (pathos).This intense sequence
of events is heart pounding to viewers as they wonder whether they will get all
the way back to the real world or not (pathos). The viewers are taken from
level to level as their minds try to keep up with what is going on. This scene
can be overwhelming at first, but overall it is enthralling and holds the viewer’s
attention (pathos).
The special effects in Inception create strong feelings in
viewers with their intensity and action. This film’s special effects definitely
deserve three clipboards. I have never seen special effects quite like the ones
in this film. The zero gravity fight scene is a dazzling array of stunt work
and choreography like no other. The physics in this scene look real, and I have
never seen zero gravity handled better in a film. It does not look fake at all
and is very well done. To say that the editing in the “final kick” scene that
takes place near the end of the film was good would be a huge understatement.
The editing seen here is nothing short of miraculous as viewers intently watch
as the film cuts from one dream level to another. The suspense created in this
scene has viewers gripping onto their seats. The film itself is credible with
the fact that Christopher Nolan directed it, Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph
Gordon-Levitt play main characters, and it was also nominated for lots of
awards (ethos). Viewers who know of and like any of these men in other movies
would want to watch this masterpiece come to life on screen (logos). Special
effects in Inception definitely
enhanced this film.
Confusing and complicated at times,
the movie, Inception, with elaborate
dream sequences and thrilling action, was innovative in writing and special
effects, and certainly interesting to watch. It is important that the special
effects do not draw attention to themselves; they make the viewer appreciate
the grand images created and experience, or feel, the action as reality.
Watching this movie, it is easier to just take it all in than to try to figure
it out, and the special effects make viewing an enjoyable experience.
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